Prune

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Prune \Prune\, v. i.
     To dress; to prink; -used humorously or in contempt.
     --Dryden.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Prune \Prune\, n. [F. prune, from L. prunum a plum. See {Plum}.]
     A plum; esp., a dried plum, used in cookery; as, French or
     Turkish prunes; California prunes.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {German prune} (Bot.), a large dark purple plum, of oval
        shape, often one-sided. It is much used for preserving,
        either dried or in sirup.
  
     {Prune tree}. (Bot.)
     (a) A tree of the genus {Prunus} ({Prunus domestica}), which
         produces prunes.
     (b) The West Indian tree, {Prunus occidentalis}.
  
     {South African prune} (Bot.), the edible fruit of a
        sapindaceous tree ({Pappea Capensis}).
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Prune \Prune\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pruned}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Pruning}.] [OE. proine, probably fr. F. provigner to lay
     down vine stocks for propagation; hence, probably, the
     meaning, to cut away superfluous shoots. See {Provine}.]
     1. To lop or cut off the superfluous parts, branches, or
        shoots of; to clear of useless material; to shape or
        smooth by trimming; to trim: as, to prune trees; to prune
        an essay. --Thackeray.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Taking into consideration how they [laws] are to be
              pruned and reformed.                  --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Our delightful task
              To prune these growing plants, and tend these
              flowers.                              --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To cut off or cut out, as useless parts.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Horace will our superfluous branches prune.
                                                    --Waller.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To preen; to prepare; to dress. --Spenser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              His royal bird
              Prunes the immortal wing and cloys his beak. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  prune
       n : dried plum
       v 1: cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of; "dress the
            plants in the garden" [syn: {snip}, {clip}, {crop}, {trim},
             {lop}, {dress}, {cut back}]
       2: weed out unwanted or unnecessary things; "We had to lose
          weight, so we cut the sugar from our diet" [syn: {cut}, {rationalize},
           {rationalise}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  141 Moby Thesaurus words for "prune":
     abbreviate, abridge, abscind, abstract, amputate, annihilate, ax,
     backset, ban, bar, bisect, blockhead, bob, boil down, brash,
     butcher, capsulize, carve, chop, chump, cleave, clip, compress,
     condense, contract, crop, cull, cultivate, culture, curtail, cut,
     cut away, cut back, cut down, cut in two, cut off, cut off short,
     cut out, cut short, delve, dichotomize, dig, dimwit, dissever,
     dock, dolt, dope, dress, dumbbell, elide, eliminate, enucleate,
     epitomize, eradicate, except, excise, exclude, extinguish,
     extirpate, fallow, fertilize, fissure, force, foreshorten, gash,
     hack, halve, harrow, hew, hoe, idiot, ignoramus, incise, isolate,
     jigsaw, knock off, lance, list, lop, moron, mow, mulch, mutilate,
     nip, pare, peel, pick out, plow, poll, pollard, rake, reap, recap,
     recapitulate, reduce, rend, retrench, rive, root out, rule out,
     saw, scissor, set apart, set aside, sever, shave, shear, shorten,
     skive, slash, slice, slit, snip, snub, spade, split, stamp out,
     strike off, strip, strip off, stunt, sum up, summarize, sunder,
     synopsize, take in, take off, take out, tear, telescope, thin,
     thin out, till, till the soil, trim, truncate, weed, weed out,
     whittle, wipe out, work